The highlight of the dining week was last Sunday’s nine-course dinner at Quince benefiting the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Each of The Chronicle’s four-star chefs each created a course and matched it to a wine picked by each restaurant’s wine director. I’ll not post any pictures here, because we covered it on Inside Scoop SF earlier this week.

Photo #1: Still, there were many interesting and diverse tastes this week starting with herring three ways ($12) at Plaj, the new Scandinavian restaurant at the Inn at the Opera on Fulton. One is flavored with coriander and chiles, another with saffron and tomato and a third with smoked soy, ginger and lime. Even if you’re not a herring fan, you should warm to these preparations.

#2: Another interesting starter, a riff on the deviled egg trend, is the hard-cooked eggs ($4.50) at Campo Fina, the new sister restaurant to Scopa in Healdsburg. The hard-cooked eggs are topped with salsa verde with a touch of anchovy and surrounded by slices of pickled celery, pickled peppers and caper berries.

#3: Few tastes are more compelling than eating a tomato and mozzarella salad ($12) on an umbrella-shaded patio surrounded by water. That’s what you get at Terrapin Crossroadsin San Rafael where the manicured terrace overlooks a canal. The tomatoes and cheese are enhanced with pickled cherry tomatoes.

#4: AtTroya, the Turkish restaurant that took over the Citizen Cake/Vivande space on Fillmore, you can start with the Anatolian flatbread ($11). The sesame-flecked dough is shaped like a boat, filled with feta cheese and topped with arugula.

#5: I’ve seen many versions of tripe in my time, but never one where it’s matched with plums. At AQ, chef Mark Liberman cuts honeycomb tripe ($10) into thin strips and then arranges them over diced plums with charred lemon and ginger. The waiter then pours on a little plum broth tableside. Not sure if it’s the best preparation I’ve had, but it’s certainly the most interesting.

#6: Desserts have become very conceptual, even at many moderately priced restaurants, so I’d like to give a shout out to the plum crisp ($9.50) at Campo Fina. It’s spooned out on the plate like you’d do at home, next to a scoop of ice cream. The flavor captured the essence of summer and set the right tone to cap a meal.